Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Girl with Seven Names, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Oppression, Human Rights, and North Korea
Identity and Nationality
Family
Kindness
Summary
Analysis
On July 8, 1994, lessons are interrupted at school, and Hyeonseo and her classmates are told about the death of Kim Il-sung. “The great heart,” the teacher says, “has stopped beating.” No one is told to cry, but Hyeonseo and the others know their tears are required. Hyeonseo rubs her eyes and feigns sadness, and the next day, all the schools in Hyesan join together for a period of public mourning. Shops and factories close, and all the people take to the streets to cry. When school finally resumes, the entire student body and all the teachers publically chastise a young girl for faking her tears. Thankfully, no one seems to notice that Hyeonseo is not sincere in her grief, either.
“The great heart stops beating” because Kim Il-sung was officially killed by a heart attack. The forced mourning again reflects the repression of the people and self-importance of the regime; appearing to be sad is considered the only appropriate reaction. After Kim Il-sung’s death, a ten-day mourning period was declared, and hundreds of thousands of people were flown into Pyongyang from all over North Korea to attend his funeral, which was, of course, broadcast on Korean television.
Themes
Adults all across Hyesan are arrested for faking their own grief, and it isn’t long before the public executions begin. Public executions are mandatory after elementary school, and factories close to ensure large crowds. Hyeonseo watches as the condemned are ushered to the Hyesan Airport, where all public executions take place. Three men are tied to stakes and given a chance to confess their crimes, then they are shot three times—once in the head, once in the chest, and once in the stomach—with their families seated in the front row.
These public executions again serve to intimidate the people, which is why the families of the executed are seated in the front row. Again, it seems outrageous that men are lined up and shot simply for not mourning the death of their dictator sincerely enough, but the regime nonetheless maintains the power to end its citizens’ lives for such trivial reasons.
Themes
